


When in Doubt

by XxPidgesaurusxX



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hurt/Comfort ???????? i guess ?????, Kidge - Freeform, Listen I got weird and mushy last night so now this exists, Other, Pidge has a meltdown and Keith helps them out, TAKE A SHOT OF WATER EVERY TIME KEITH CALLS PIDGE A PET NAME, Theyre both at college so its aged up ig, Theyre too pure bgfwheiodlps, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 02:03:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15853965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxPidgesaurusxX/pseuds/XxPidgesaurusxX
Summary: “I can’t, I'’m such a goddamn failure! I'm going to fail this class and therefore fail the semester and therefore not get into any courses next year and therefore not be allowed into any of the tech jobs I’ve been planning on getting into since I was six and therefore-”“-Pidge?”In which Pidge's stress gets too much to handle, and Keith's help is very much appreciated.





	When in Doubt

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really bad at writing ??? Keith ??? apparently ?? so, sorry about that lmao  
> I got randomly soft at like eleven pm last night, and here we are, whoops.  
> I hope this isn't completely sucky ????? Ye  
> ^^

Pidge let out a dejected sigh and stared vaguely forward, their gaze darting from their very much blank computer screen to their empty green coffee mug beside the mouse pad, writhing their shaky, sweater-covered hands together. They had chugged the contents of the mug within minutes of brewing it out of pure stress, choosing to ignore the intense burning sensation in their throat that still somehow refused to go away.

 

 _"_ It's been _hours_ , what in utter god am I doing?! _”_ They hissed at themselves as they shook off their glasses, letting the frames fall limply onto the keyboard.

 

“ _Think,_ Pidge. This isn’t that hard, you just need to-” The ginger suddenly perked their head up, and hurriedly tapped out the few sentences that had just sprung to mind. “-Aha!” They exclaimed, leaning back in their seat for a moment, visibly satisfied with themselves for accomplishing such a feat-  before allowing themselves to reposition their glasses on their face, and proofread the paragraph.

 

“Wait, no, hold on a tick…” They traced their fingernail over the words on the screen; the short-lived pride they had accumulated quickly melting away as they analysed their mistakes.

 

“Oh for fucks sake, that's not right at _all_!” They cringed outwardly, repeatedly slamming down on the delete button to remove all evidence of the previous concepts.

 

Pidge ripped out their braids and scratched the back of their neck frantically, their breathing becoming heavier by the second. “This is…This is it, it's finally happening! I'm going insane! I'm losing my IQ- Rapidly. When I need it most!” They practically yelled, slapping their face in sync with every word they choked out.

 

The final paper of the semester was due in less than a week, and it was on a subject matter that Pidge found themselves not understanding at all during classes- not that they’d dare admit that to anyone, _especially_ a professor. They had a reputation to uphold, and asking for help would most _certainly_ ruin that- might even make them look dumb- And there was nothing they feared more than that.

 

So now they suffered the consequences- a blank document, impending deadlines, and a rapidly increasing heartbeat that threatened to burst through their ribcage.

 

Pidge slapped themselves harder across the face and stared blankly at the computer screen, feeling their face growing warm and their eyes slowly getting damp.

 

“You should _know_ this, you stupid fucking-- _Ugh!_ ”  

 

They groaned in frustration and dug their nails into their temples, making an effort to ignore the tears dripping onto their palms.

 

Their breaths got shorter and more strained as they glazed over the screen, focusing in on the time ticking on in the bottom right for a second, before their glasses steamed up, and their vision became blurry from crying. They dug their nails deeper into the skin of their temples, as if making an attempt to physically claw some productive information, _any_ useful information at _all,_ from their brain.

 

“I _can’t,_ I'’m such a goddamn failure! I'm going to _fail_ this class and therefore fail the _semester_ and therefore not get into _any_ courses next year and therefore not be allowed into any of the tech jobs I’ve been planning on getting into since I was _six_ and therefore--”

 

“-- _Pidge?”_

 

The ginger flinched, gasping as they blinked frantically and looked around- before finally fixing their teary eyes on the gloved hand on their shoulder, and then moving to the pair of violet eyes looking at them with concern plastered over his face.

 

“K-keith?! How...H-how long have you been there?” They asked, growing panic evident in their already croaky voice.

 

The raven-haired boy’s expression softened as he leaned down to sit on his heels, and he began gently massaging circles into his partner’s shoulder with this thumb.

 

“A few minutes, hon. I came in to ask you if you wanted more coffee, but…” He trailed off for a moment, mentally noting Pidge’s trembling lips, and their red puffy eyes, visible through the lenses of their glasses.

 

Pidge noticed Keith’s gaze fixed on them and sniffled, quickly plastering a fake smile onto their face- forcing themselves to look their boyfriend in the eye.

 

“I'm fine, Keith. Just... Just kinda tired. Nothing new.”

 

Keith stilled his hand and brought it up to Pidge’s face, slowly pulling off their glasses and folding them up, leaving Pidge with no shield to cry behind.

 

“What are you--”

  
“I know you, Darlin’.” Keith set the frames on the desk and looked back up at Pidge, wiping away the tears that continued to fall down their face, causing Pidge to flinch slightly. “When you’re tired you get hyperactive, you don't cry.”

 

“I-”

 

_Damn you, Kogane._

 

Pidge let out a single choked sob, before quickly over-exaggerating a cough, to mask it off as … anything other than what it was. 

 

Keith, who caught onto the cover-up instantaneously, cupped Pidge’s face softly in both of his hands.

 

“You can talk to me about anythin’ If you need to, you know that, love.” He stated sweetly, brushing his thumbs over the gingers’ cheeks.

 

“I know, yeah…It’s just… It's dumb...” Pidge mumbled, trying to turn their face away in Keith’s palms.

 

Keith turned himself around slightly to accommodate for this twist, looking up at Pidge, continuing to stroke their face. “Look at me, Pidge.”

 

Pidge let out a sharp, shaky exhale, still not daring to meet the boy’s eyes.

 

“Please, hon.” He pleaded, his eyes wide with concern.

 

It took a few moments, but Pidge hesitantly moved their face and looked over at Keith.

 

“It's _not_ dumb. Whatever it is, it’s clearly upsetting you, and you have every right to get it off of your chest- So that you can let me help you, however I can, okay?” He assured, a small smile directed up at them.

 

One glance at Keith’s sorrowful expression, and Pidge’s facade promptly fell apart.

 

They gave a small nod and leant their head into his hands in return- not trusting that their voice would remain steady if they tried to speak. Keith wiped away a few more stray tears on the ginger’s face before removing his hands, and moving to pull Pidge into a hug.

 

“Is it alright if I...?” He asked, gesturing to his open arms.

 

Pidge nodded with more enthusiasm this time around, allowing her arms to drape around Keith’s neck as he carefully lifted her up off the chair, and carried her down the small hallway to their bedroom.

 

“Why are we--” Pidge asked quietly with one eyebrow raised, once they copped onto where they were headed.

 

Keith’s face momentarily flushed, and he almost dropped his partner, before clearing his throat and straightening up. “I'm not trying to- I uh- You need to get some rest, darlin’, you look as if you're about to pass out.” He stammered as he entered the room, earning a small chuckle from Pidge as he set her down on the bed.

 

“ _Don't laugh at me, I'm embarrassed._ ” Keith cried as he leant against the door to close it- only semi-exaggerating his distress.

 

Pidge flailed their arms across their face, trying their best to conceal another laugh. “I'm sorry babe, I love you.” They cooed, their voice teasing, but still a little hoarse from a few moments prior. Their smirk faded soon after that, and they stared down at the bedsheets, scooting further up to lay their head on their pillow.

 

Keith sat down on his side of the bed and leaned over, closer to Pidge. He gently brushed their fringe out of their face and kissed them on the forehead. His gaze lingered for a moment, before he eventually pulled back and got up from the bed.

 

After turning away from the doorframe and seeing Pidge look up at him in confusion, he smiled sweetly.  “I'm just gonna go grab you a blanket from the heater, hon. Is there- is there anythin’ else you want?” He asked quietly, receiving only a small shake of Pidge’s head as a response.

 

“Alright, then, give me a sec.”

 

And wiith that, he was gone.

 

Pidge’s heavy breathing, and the soft padding of Keith’s socked feet on wooden floors were the only sounds to be heard for minutes after that. Pidge curled up into a ball, clutching their knees to their chest and concentrating on a certain point on the floor to help ground themselves.

 

 _“I messed up real bad, huh?”_ They thought aloud to themselves, a small nervous wheeze escaping their lips.

 

Pidge buried their head further into their knees and let out a small sob.

 

“ _He probably thinks less of me now- I wouldn't be surprised. I'm not the badass fucker he thought he fell in love with, i'm just-- I'm a weak ass piece of shit who can’t even write an essay without breaking down. God, I’m so--”_

 

“Babe?”

 

Pidge lifted their head up slightly to see their boyfriend stumble into the room and shut the door- Keith had returned with a fluffy maroon blanket in his arms, and two mugs of hot chocolate held precariously in one hand, mini marshmallows spilling over the side of the green one. Upon seeing Pidge shaking again, however, he placed the mugs down on the nightstand, discarded the blanket at the edge of the bed and clambered over beside the ginger, extending a hand towards them.

 

“Can I..?”

 

Pidge nodded, silently allowing Keith to wrap his arm around their shoulder and pull them closer onto his lap, stroking gently down their arm as their body went limp and they cried into his chest.

 

Keith brought his free hand up to run his fingers through Pidge’s hair, and leant his chin on their head. “It's alright darlin’, I'm here, let it out, you're okay.” He whispered soothingly, trying as best he could to calm his partner’s shaking. He brushed their damp bangs out of their eyes, and focused his gaze on the fresh, now exposed crescent shaped imprints on the ginger’s temples.

 

“Oh, hon…” He whispered quietly, lightly brushing his fingertips over the tiny purple bruises that had began to form, then planting a kiss to Pidge’s temple.

 

After another couple of minutes, Pidge’s breathing had evened out, and their tears had stopped soaking through Keith’s sweater. They lifted their head again, and stared up at the boy cradling them in his arms- who gave a small smile back, before carefully reaching over in front of them both and making a grab for the blanket.

 

“Here, you’re still shiverin’....” He stated calmly, draping the material over his own shoulders and pulling it round, encasing them both in a blanket burrito before wrapping his arms around Pidge again.“This should help.”

 

Pidge only hummed in response, pulling on a corner of the blanket and nuzzling closer to Keith. “Warm.”

  
“Well yeah, babe, it was in the heater for a while.” Keith teased, despite his soft expression not wavering. Pidge gave him a light shove -a move that wasn't all that effective, considering they were both wrapped up tightly in a blanket- but they pulled the material tighter around themselves, satisfied with the warmth nonetheless.

 

“I meant that _you're_ warm, but go off I guess.”  Pidge smirked, gently grabbing hold of one of  the boy’s gloved hands.

 

Keith’s face went beet red almost instantaneously. “I, uh- th-thank you? I think?” He stammered out, squeezing Pidge’s hand nervously.

 

“Mm, welcome.” Pidge murmured back sleepily, adjusting themselves under the blanket.

 

_-_-_

 

They sat there, just cuddling, for a good half hour. Pidge would suddenly start shaking again every so often, but Keith simply continued to stroke their hair and softly whisper affirmation into their ear, and so they were, all in all, in a better state of mind.

 

“Are you ready to talk about it yet, hon?” Keith asked, reaching down to cup Pidge’s freckled face in his hand, even though-

 

“Oh.”

 

Pidge had curled up more, and their puffy eyes were shut closed. Soft, incoherent mumbles were the only sounds coming from them. Keith leant down and placed a kiss on the ginger’s nose, before adjusting the fluffy material of the blanket around them both and wrapping his arms around Pidge once again.

 

“Sleep well, Pidgeon. I love you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate title: Keith makes hot chocolate and nO ONE FUCKING DRINKS IT DAMMIT PIDGE ITS CO L D CH OCO LA T E N OW


End file.
